On Breathing

by

Arturo Vasquez

If I could lie next to you

Like death

And drink in the sound

Of your breathing

Like waves-

I would write a song

That no one could sing,

Put it in a bottle,

And throw it

Into the sea.

Then,

Only I would know

The music that it is

To watch you sleep-

To behold heaven collapse

Under the weight

Of flower petals,

To drown in the hapiness

That only the hottest tears

Cast,

To no longer wait for

The coming of a savior-

But rather to immerse

Myself in the blanket

Of your hair

And dance the dream

Of your slow-moving eyes,

Hidden by the most delicate

Shade-

To close my eyes,

Put my head back,

And breath...